Lakers Rumors: Getting Kyrie Irving now helps recruit Paul George later

The latest Lakers rumors look at a down the road payoff of a Kyrie Irving deal.

Considering that Kyrie Irving hasn’t appeared in much of the Lakers rumors lately is rather surprising. In the middle of getting dealt to Oklahoma City, Paul George seemed to make things a little clear this summer.

He won’t be coming to LA if the team is terrible and if there’s no stars.

In fact, he noted that recruitment of other guys is a must. The Thunder have Russell Westbrook under their wing for now, and that could come back to haunt the Lakers if they don’t act soon.

It’d be foolish for them to trade too much to get Irving, but that’s where negotiating becomes incredibly valuable. Julius Randle could be part of a package, as well as guys like Jordan Clarkson.

Whatever the asking price for Irving, it’ll likely also have to include solid future draft selections. New York reportedly has a package for Irving that includes, in part, Carmelo Anthony and a few first round draft picks.

Los Angeles would have to either find a way to match the value of that or other offers or attempt to weave their way in by themselves. Kyrie Irving doesn’t have as much say in the trade as he might think. And this might have come about so suddenly after Paul George got out of a bad situation he didn’t want to be a part of.

He might not have ended up in his desired spot, but the bottom line is that he left where he wanted to be away from. That clearly matters more to Irving than anything else at this point.

Also, getting Irving means being able to have him for the next few seasons under contract. That would help in convincing George next summer that they really do have something to build around.

However, this is more of a crossroads moment for the Lakers than some might realize. Obviously, one huge obstacle they have to address is what that would mean for Lonzo Ball and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. They just signed KCP off of the free agent market and drafted Ball second overall.

A combination of Kyrie Irving and Lonzo Ball would definitely be worth your time, but KCP might have a harder time fitting in. It could lead to a starting lineup of Ball, Irving, Ingram, Kuzma/Nance Jr., and Lopez unless the trade dictates otherwise.

If they don’t move for Irving now, it’ll only be harder on them next summer. Sure, Magic Johnson will try and make you feel good by reminding you how much cap space they have.

Next: Can Brandon Ingram Become A Leading Scorer?

But if they don’t use it right, is there even a point to saving so much?